This recipe from Josh Weikert, author of the Beer: Simple blog is for a bare-bones, but crisp and flavorful, German Pils. The grist is simplicity itself, all Pils with just a touch of Victory to bring out a rich grainy malt flavor, and it has plenty of IBUs and hops flavor to keep it firmly in the Pilsner family. He says that the key is fermentation: use any and all tricks in your arsenal to dry this one out, with effective temperature control during fermentation being key.
ALL-GRAIN
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.049
FG: 1.010
IBUs: 41
ABV: 4.9%
MALT/GRAIN BILL
9 lb (4.8 kg) German Pilsner malt
0.25 lb (113 g) Victory malt
HOPS SCHEDULE
0.5 oz (14 g) Warrior [15% AA] at 60 minutes
0.5 oz (14 g) Hallertau [4% AA] at 10 minutes
0.5 oz (14 g) Hallertau [4% AA] at flame out
YEAST
Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and mix them with 3.2 gallons (12.1 liters) of 164°F (73°C) strike water to reach a mash temperature of 152°F (67°C). Hold this temperature for 60 minutes; if your water is soft to slightly hard, you may consider adding 1/4 teaspoon of gypsum to the mash.
Vorlauf until your runnings are clear. Sparge the grains with 3.8 gallons (14.4 liters) and top up as necessary to obtain 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort. Boil for 60 minutes, following the hops schedule and adding Irish Moss as desired.
After the boil, chill the wort, aerate, and pitch the yeast.
Ferment at 50°F (10°C) until final gravity is reached; increase the temperature by a few degrees at the latter stages of fermentation to aid in diacetyl cleanup. Once the beer completes fermentation, but before packaging, you may want to cold crash it to 35°F (2°C) for 48 hours to improve clarity. Bottle or keg the beer and carbonate to approximately 2.5 volumes. Store carbonated beer at near-freezing temperatures for at least 4 weeks before drinking.